“Dodds has taken the dishonourable way out”

What is surprising is the timing of his departure. In just over six weeks’ time, a new strategic plan for Scottish Golf – essentially, the fruits of Dodds’ labour over the last six to nine months – will be debated at a Special General Meeting before Scottish Golf stakeholders will be asked to vote upon them.

If conversations on social media are anything to go by, it appears that there is very little chance of the proposals being passed.

Speaking to Dodds in St Andrews two weeks ago, I got the sense he knew that, too.

He cut a (ironically enough) resigned figure. Downbeat, downcast, defeated. What he didn’t appear to have was the stomach for a fight – and that’s the exact opposite of what Scottish Golf needs right now.

By his own admission, he inherited an organisation that was in a bad way. He told me that, when he came in, expenditure was outstripping income and so he set in place a new business strategy in an attempt to balance the books and make Scottish Golf better fit for purpose.

The decision by sportscotland to slash its funding to the body was a further complication he could have done without but it appears to be the broadly negative response to his proposed strategy overhaul that has broken this particular camel’s back.